The consumption of large amounts of triglyceride fats has been linked to various health problems. For example, one of the most common metabolic problems among people today is obesity. This condition is primarily due to ingestion of a greater number of calories than are expended. Fat is the most concentrated form of energy in the diet, with each gram of fat supplying approximately nine calories, and triglyceride fats constitute about 90% of the total fat consumed in the average diet.
The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference, "Lowering Blood Cholesterol to Prevent Heart Disease," JAMA, Vol. 253, No. 14, pp. 2080-2086 (1985), concluded that elevation of blood cholesterol levels is a major cause of coronary artery disease, and recommended a reduction in the amount of fat eaten to reduce blood serum cholesterol levels.
Hence, there is a need for ways to reduce the amount of triglyceride fats in the diet, in order to reduce the health risks associated with these fats.
Numerous fat substitutes are known to the art. A review of some of the approaches tried for replacing fats and oils is given in an article by Haumann, "Getting the Fat Out," JAOCS, Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 278-288 (March 1986). Various approaches and products that have been suggested for replacement of the fat content of foods are examined in LaBarge, "The Search for a Low-Caloric Oil," Food Technology, pp. 84-90 (January 1988).
A partial list of some of the reduced calorie fat substitutes known to the art includes the following: fatty alcohol esters of polycarboxylic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,746 to Hamm, issued Apr. 2, 1985); fatty polyethers of polyglycerol (U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,532 to Hunter et al., issued Jan. 13, 1976) (food use disclosed in German Patent 207,070, issued February 15, 1984); ethers and ether-esters of polyols containing the neopentyl moiety (U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,419 to Minich, issued Nov. 29, 1960); fatty alcohol diesters of dicarboxylic acids such as malonic and succinic acid (U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,927 to Fulcher, issued Apr. 15, 1986); triglyceride esters of alpha branched chain-alkyl carboxylic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,548 to Whyte, issued May 18, 1971); fatty acid diglyceride, diesters of dibasic acids (U.S. Pat. No. 2,874,175 to Feuge et al.); polyorganosiloxanes (European Patent Application 205,273 to Frye); alpha-acylated glycerides (U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,715 to Volpenhein); medium chain triglycerides; highly esterified polyglycerol esters; acetin fats; plant sterol esters; N-Oil; polyoxyethylene esters; jojoba esters; mono/diglycerides of fatty acids; and mono/diglycerides of short-chain dibasic acids.
Sugar and sugar alcohol fatty acid polyesters are disclosed for use as fat substitutes in U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,186 to Mattson et al., issued Aug. 17, 1971. However, there is no suggestion that alkoxylated sugar and sugar alcohol polyesters are also suitable as fat substitutes.
Alkoxylated sugars and sugar alcohols are known to the art for use in making urethanes and polyurethanes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,936 to Nodelman, issued June 1, 1982, discloses an improved method for making oxyalkylated polyols (including certain sugars and sugar alcohols) by adding a solid initiator to the reaction mixture. The products are said to be particularly suited for the production of rigid polyurethane foams. U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,508 to Winquist, Jr. et al., issued May 2, 1967, discloses a process for making alkylene oxide adducts of polyhydroxy organic compounds (including sugars) by utilizing novel ditertiary amino catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,907 to Bedoit, Jr., issued Dec. 16, 1980, discloses the employment of a water-soluble initiator to make alkoxylated sucrose and sorbitol. The product is said to be useful in the production of urethane foams. U.S. Pat. No. 3,346,557 to Patton, Jr., et al., issued Oct. 10, 1967, discloses another method for oxyalkylating polyols. While the above-mentioned Nodelman, Winquist, Bedoit, and Patton patents disclose alkoxylated sugars and sugar alcohols, they do not disclose the fatty acid esters of these compounds.
Japanese Kokai Patent No. Sho 52[1977]-62216 to Nakamura et al., published May 23, 1977, discloses polyoxyalkylenated sucrose that is esterified with aliphatic acids having C.sub.8 to C.sub.22 saturated or unsaturated alkyl groups. However, the sucrose esters contain only 1 to 3 acid groups per sucrose molecule. The polyoxyalkylenated sucrose esters are said to be useful as nonionic surfactants.
One of the main problems in attempting to formulate fat compounds that have decreased absorbability and thus low calorie properties is to maintain the desirable and conventional physical properties of edible fat. Thus, to be a practical low calorie fat, a compound must resemble conventional triglyceride fat, and have the same utility in various fat-containing food compositions such as shortening, margarine, cake mixes, and the like, and be useful in frying or baking.
None of the above-mentioned references suggests that fatty acid polyesters of alkoxylated sugars and sugar alcohols are particularly suitable as low calorie fat substitutes for use in fat-containing food compositions. Alkoxylated sugars and sugar alcohols are known for making urethane foams, but there is no suggestion in the art of fatty acid esters of these compounds being suitable as fat substitutes. These compounds have now surprisingly been found to have organoleptic and other physical properties that make them well-suited as fat substitutes. This is surprising in view of the significant structural difference between the present compounds and sugar and sugar alcohol esters or triglycerides.
Moreover, the compounds of the invention have now been found to be resistant to hydrolysis and therefore nondigestible. Accordingly, the compounds contain zero calories, in contrast to the nine calories per gram in triglyceride fats.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide fat substitutes comprising fatty acid polyesters of alkoxylated sugars and sugar alcohols.
It is another object of the present invention to provide fat substitutes that are resistant to hydrolysis and therefore nondigestible and noncaloric.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide low calorie fat-containing food compositions containing these fat substitutes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become evident from the disclosure herein.
All parts, percentages and ratios used herein are by weight unless otherwise indicated.